The present invention relates to novel apparatus and methods for stabilizing patients so that they can readily be transported and/or treated, and more particularly, it relates to apparatus for securing patients and accident victims to back boards, cots, stretchers and the like and to methods therefor.
There are many instances in caring for patients when it is highly desirable that the patient be stabilized and that selected musculoskeletal regions be immobilized to avoid and/or minimize any trauma associated with removing the patient from a hazardous area, such as a fireground, or from an accident or other scene, and safely transporting the patient to a medical care facility. One of the desiderata is that the patient be securely fastened to and/or restrained to a stable surface to aid in transportation and treatment. Thus, a patient who is involved in a vehicular accident may be trapped in the conveyance, and part of the rescue operation will entail stabilizing the patient so that removal from the primary site of the trauma will cause a minimum of, and preferably no, further injury to the patient.
In the field, it is frequently not possible for the emergency medical technician, fireman, policeman, or other rescuer immediately to determine the nature of the patient's injuries. It is, however, usually necessary that the patient be rapidly and safely removed from the conveyance or other situation. The need is particularly acute in a situation such as a vehicular or structural fire, when only a very limited time is available to remove the patient from a life-threatening situation.
One common appliance used in such situations is the so-called "back board" or "spinal board."
Conventional boards generally contain a plurality of oblong slots which can serve as hand-holds for carrying the boards. One slots to allow for fastening straps to the boards. The fastening straps are held by metal attachments to the pins. These metal attachments for the straps are usually clip- or hook-style quick connect metal fittings. One difficulty encountered with such construction is that the boards are generally about three-quarters of an inch in thickness, so that there is not a great thickness of board material to hold a, say, one-quarter inch pin in place across the slot. Thus, under heavy loading (which can occur at the most crucial time in moving a patient), the pin can pull through the remaining thickness of the board with very serious consequences to the patient and to the rescuers. Indeed, such pins generally cannot be used at all in molded plastic boards or fiberglass-reinforced boards.
Such spinal boards conventionally comprise a piece of stiff plywood or other rigid material containing generally rectangular apertures. The apertures are spaced from the edges of the board so that straps can be riven through the slots to be passed around the board and through a second slot to secure the patient to the board. Conventionally, auto seat belts are used to secure the patient to the board. In earlier days, such belts relied on metal-to-fabric friction to secure the two ends of the belt to each other. Latterly, the belts utilize a metal-to-metal fastener wherein one end of the belt contains a flat member which inserts into a buckle and can be locked into place to secure the two ends of the belt, and thus secure the patient to the board. Various other means of joinder are available in various products. Examples of these are cam buckles, D-rings, triple slides and the like.
Such fastenings are readily available and do a satisfactory job of securing a patient to the board. One of the precepts followed in treating trauma and other patients is that movement be minimized, so that any injury is not aggravated by handling. It is thus desirable that the patient undergo any further preliminary evaluation and treatment, such as obtaining roentgenograms before removal from the backboard. Unfortunately, the conventional belts rely on metal fasteners, and these frequently interfere with roentgenography and other imaging techniques, so that the straps may need to be released and removed with consequent possible movement of and further injury to the patient. Moreover, conventional quick-connect metal fasteners can injure the patient or the rescue worker if they come adrift and flail during emplacement or removal.